Fungi Kingdom

General characteristics

It is said that there are more than a million species of fungi, and we
have only discovered about 100,000 of them. Fungi live in air, water, land,
soil, and in or on animals. The sizes of fungi vary from microscopic to the
size of 100 acres. Fungi are so crucial that they determine the types of
plants and animals that live in a community. Fungi are heterotrophs,
saprophytic, and parasitic. Heterotrophs absorb nutrients, saprophytic
fungi break down dead organic matter by releasing enzymes, and parasitic
fungi get their nutrients from living hosts, and some parasitic fungi are
pathogenic. Fungi have a unique way of getting their required nutrients.
They do no eat their food, but they digest their food while it is still in the
environment. Exoenzymes, enzymes that break down complex molecules
to smaller molecules so fungi can digest them, are released by the fungi
into their environment.
Body Structure
The cell walls of fungi are made of chitin, a polysaccharide that is
strong and flexible. Bodies of fungi are made up of fine threads called
hyphae that are tube-like structures that surround the plasma membrane
of the cell, and each fungus has multiple hyphae that work together. A
network of these hyphae is called mycelium. The structure of mycelium
makes feeding more efficient. In 1 cm3 of soil has mycelium that can be the
length of as long as 1 km of hyphae. Mycelium in fungi grows rapidly and
can’t move to get food. Instead mycelium extends its hyphae to new places.
The cell walls of fungi are made of chitin, a polysaccharide that is strong
and flexible. Fungi focus on absorbing nutrients and using them to grow
their hyphae.

Septa are little pores that divide the hyphae into cells. These pores
allow ribosomes, mitochondria, and nuclei to come in. Of course, fungi
have different types of hyphae. Some hyphae feed off on living animals and
other hyphae, such as haustoria, enter tissues of their hosts.

Mycorrhizae is another type of fungi that transfer phosphate ions to

plant roots. The plants then, give fungus organic nutrients. There are
different types of mycorrhizae fungi. A couple examples are
ectomychorrhizal fungi and endomycorrhizal fungi.
Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction in fungi usually starts when two different
hyphae release pheromones, sexual signaling molecules. If the mycelia of
the two fungi are different, pheromones bind to receptors on the other
fungi’s surface and the hyphae extend to the pheromones and fuse. If the
hyphae doesn’t fuse, then the mycelia of the two fungi are the same or
mostly same.

Asexual Reproduction
Many fungi have an ability to reproduce asexually. Spores clone
themselves by mitotic division through air or water. Some fungi that
reproduce asexually are mold and yeasts. Molds can grow as fast as
mycelia and can also reproduce sexually if they get in contact with other
mating types. Yeasts reproduce asexually in many different ways. They
have simple cell division and they can also reproduce sexually.
Ecological Importance
Fungi are really important to our environment. They play a role as
decomposers, symbionts, pathogens, and other practical uses.
Decomposers can consume any substrate that contains carbon.
Decomposers and bacteria help contain the ecosystem with inorganic
molecules that help with plant growth. The different types of symbionts
are mycorrhizai, fungus-animal symbiosis, and lichens. Fungus-animal
symbiosis is when fungus live in the guts of cattle and help digest their
food. Lichens grow on rocks, rotten logs, trees, and roofs in the shape of a
shrub, leaf, or encrusting form. Lichens are millions of photosynthetic
microorganisms that are combines together in fungal hyphae. Pathogens
are disease-causing fungi. Pathogens were introduced to the US in an
interesting way. They traveled from Europe on logs that helped pay WWI
debts. Every year, about 10% to 50% of the world’s fruit harvest is being
spoiled due to pathogenic fungi. Other use of fungus is food. We might not
know it. Mushrooms and cheese are really common in many dishes.
Cheeses come from fungi. Many types of fungi are used in medical uses and
in molecular biology and molecular genetics.

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